Echoes
by DashboardSmiley
Summary: They are about to start their new life in the middle of nowhere. Thousands and thousands of miles away from anyone they know, who should they turn to asking for help when everything starts to go wrong right before their eyes..?
1. Highway To Hell

Agron cracked his neck letting out a long sigh.

He has been driving for hours now without taking any break and it was starting to get to him. he was tired and his eyes kept watering from lack of sleep.

He and Nasir had decided to take turns driving. Although Agron should've given the wheel over to Nasir hours ago, he didn't have the heart to wake him. They only had a couple of more hours to go, and he was determined to endure it alone. After all it was his stupid idea to keep on going.

Nasir had proposed that they stop at a motel, spend the night and start the rest of the journey next day; refreshed. But Agron, all excited and eager to get to their destination as soon as possible, had refused telling Nasir that he would do all the driving, that all Nasir had to do was to sit back and relax. Nasir just shook his head in exasperation, letting Agron have his way, but he offered to take turns driving because he knew Agrons big plan was bound to fail.

Agron cursed himself for his stupidity. He should've listened to Nasir. They should've stopped and taken a break.

And to top it all off it was raining like crazy.

The thick curtains of dark black water made it impossible to see even ten feet ahead of them; so he had to drive really really slow . He was never a slow driver and this was literally killing him. But he had to be careful. An accident on the first day of their new beginning would simply not do.

Their new beginning... Their new life...

Argons face split into a wide smile at the thought, as his eyes flickered briefly to the thick gold band around his ring finger.

His new life he was about to start with the man of his dreams, the love of his life, and now his husband.

Agron mouthed the words he had come to love... Husband...

Nasir was no longer Nasir Fadel..

He was Nasir Kaufmann.

Agron and Nasir Kaufmann..

Yeah.. it does have a nice ring to it..

Agron turned his head taking in the form of his sleeping husband, currently curled up in a ball on the passenger seat. Nasir was seated sideways, legs pulled up on to the seat and chin propped up on his knees. His hands were tucked under his chin as if he was trying to keep himself warm.

Agron shook his head...Nasir and his hatred of cold.

Agron never managed to understand how, even though he had spent most of his life in America, Nasir still hasn't gotten used to the cold weather. He never seemed to get over the hot atmosphere of his homeland. Nasir always dressed up in one too many clothing even on the hottest of days. And sometimes it drove Agron mad, the amount of effort he had put into when he was trying to undress Nasir.

Some of the long black strands had managed to escape Nasirs ponytail and was now framing his face, making him look years younger and somehow more vulnerable. The rush of tender emotions that flooded Agrons heart was not unexpected. Nasir was years younger than him and he always felt the driving need to protect the younger man.

Nasir was snoring softly and little bit of drool was dripping down from the corner of his mouth.

Well what could Agron say... It was a Kodak moment.

With a smirk he reached out, trying not to disturb the sleeping man, quickly grabbed the camera from the glove box and snapped a picture of his drooling husband. It would come in handy in the near future.

Chuckling under his breath at the amount of useful purposes the picture held, he replaced the camera in the glove box. Reaching out he tucked a black lock behind Nasirs ear, letting his hand linger on the warm skin of his lovers' neck. He caressed the soft warm skin with his thumb. Nasir shifted a little at the ministrations but didn't wake up.

Giving a final gentle squeeze Agron dragged his focus back to the road.

After about another half an hour of driving his eye lids were starting to droop again. So he cranked up the volume of the radio, not enough to wake Nasir, but just enough so that he may not fall asleep. Settling his head against the headrest he started singing along with Metallica blaring through the radio ..

_''Die... by my hand... I creep across the land.. _  
_Killing first born man... _  
_I... Rule the midnight air, the destroyer _  
_Born... I shall soon be there... deadly mass...'' _  
_  
_He didn't get to sing for long though. Something wet and cold nudged against his neck, startling him out of his seat.

He almost forgot his baby, Rover, his 7 year old golden retriever lounging on the back seat. _trust the dog to make itself known_

He looked at his dog through the rear-view mirror.

'' getting bored back there old buddy ? '' The dog only wagged his fluffy tail making whiny noises.

''it's only going to be a couple of more hours boy. Then you'll be as free as a bird.'' He reached behind him, his gaze still trained on the road in front of him, and scratched the dogs head.

''It's going to be a blast you know? Your new home. With your daddy and me and we could even find you a girlfriend there'' he winked at the dog who huffed in response. Agron was sure he would be rolling his eyes if that was possible.

''You can run around all you want, and dig holes and hunt rabbits and _steal pot pies from the neighbours_...'' he added the last part in a whisper, his gaze flickering between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror.

'' it's going to be wonderful buddy. It's going to be wonderful''

He glanced back and grazed his dog with a brilliant smile.

Then suddenly Rover stood up on the seat and started growling baring it's teeth at him.

Argons smile slowly slid off his face, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

'' Rover...? What is it boy?'' his voice wavered with uncertainty.

His dog never, never, growled at him. In its seven years of life it had never scratched or growled or even showed a shard of annoyance towards Agron. And it shocked him to the core. Why was the dog acting hostile towards him?

But through his daze Agron could see Rover was not looking at him. In fact it was not trained on anything inside the car. Rover was looking past Agron. It was growling at something out side of the vehicle. Quickly turning forward he searched the road, straining his eyes to find some explanation for the dogs odd behaviour.

He didn't see anything out of ordinary. All he could make out through the thick sheets of rain was the outlines of the enormous trees lining the road, and the big branches swaying in the powerful wind.

'' there's nothing out there Rover ''

The dog still hadn't stopped growling and now the hackles were starting to rise on the back of its neck.

He threw a quick glance at Nasir, still asleep, oblivious to all the commotion around him.

'' shush now boy... or you'll wake your daddy.''

He turned back towards the road.

That's when he saw it.


	2. Lost In The Shadows

Chapter 02

At first the only thing he could make out were the dark shapes of the huge trees lining the sides of the road, surrounding them from all sides and the branches that swayed dangerously in the powerful wind. His eyes darted all over the place, and he finally saw what Rover was growling at; a dark lump in the distance.

At first he couldn't make out anything else other than the dark outlines against the trees. But as they got closer he could see it with more definition. He recognised the outlines of a lean body and slim limbs, it was definitely a human.

The growling and the whimpering coming from the back of the truck were starting to get louder by the second. It seemed as if the dog was trying to scratch its way out of the moving vehicle, scratching at the glass, whimpering pitifully.

Agron was baffled. Why was the dog reacting this way towards a human?

Then he started to feel it too.

The air inside the truck was starting to get heavy, almost making him choke. It was too hot and too cold at the same time. Goosebumps started to rise all over his body at the same time as the short wisps of hair started to rise on the back of his neck. He was starting to feel uncomfortable in his own skin.

But what caught him off guard were the emotions racing through his mind.

Pain, terror, anger, despair, fear... it all rushed through him at the same time. It was as if his mind was on overdrive.

The closer he got to the dark figure the more intense those feelings became.

He could now relate to what his dog was feeling only moments ago. Because all he wanted to do now was to turn back and race away, to leave this _thing_ and this place behind forever.

But he couldn't. He felt as if he was being pulled forward by some unseen force. Closer and closer...

He tried to tear his gaze away from the dark figure, but found it impossible to do so.

He watched as one dark hand slowly started to rise up, outstretching towards them.

Agron slammed his foot on the break with all his might.

The tires screeched, skidding a little on the wet road before coming to an abrupt halt. The jolt threw everyone forward, but none more so than Nasir who was unaware of his surroundings. The only thing that kept him from crashing through the windshield was the seat belt.

Shocked and caught off guard, he tried to right himself back on the seat, hissing at the pain he felt where the seat belt had dug into his skin.

''Agron'' he spluttered, looking around wildly, trying to get an explanation for what had happened.

''Agron what happened?''

But Agron didn't respond, and Nasir could see he hadn't heard him either. His breath was coming out in short ragged gasps and his eyes were wide and panicked. His gaze was flickering everywhere as if he was looking for something. Nasir followed the line of his gaze but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. So he turned his attention back to Agron. Removing the seat belt he leaned closer to the other man gently shaking him in order to get him out of whatever reverie he was lost in.

Agron was unaware of everything around him. His eyes were focused only for one thing; the dark figure at the side of the road. He was searching for it, but couldn't find it. It was as if it had vanished into thin air. And then he started feeling something on his shoulder, and then a soft voice, calling out to him... asking if he was alright.

Nasir...

Agron snapped back into the present and found Nasirs concerned face only inches away from his own.

He reached out and enveloped the smaller man in his arms and rested his chin on the silky soft hair.

His grip only tightened as the memories of the almost fatal accident came rushing back.

What had he done? He had almost killed them...

Finally he pulled back and held Nasir at arms length trying to assess his injuries.

''Are you alright? Are you injured?''

Nasir shook his head.

''I'm fine Agron. But you've got a bump on your forehead'' he pointed out.

Agrons hand shot up to his face, fingers lightly caressing the small lump forming on his forehead.

''Huh. I must've banged my head on the wheel or something.''

''What happened Aggy?''

Nasir never called him Aggy. He hated that nickname, only resorting to use it when he was really concerned or when he was pissed. So Agron knew he was scared. He briefly considered telling Nasir about what he saw, but then decided against it. It was not that he doubted the other mans trust in him; it was just that he didn't want to worry Nasir further. They were starting a new life and this was a sour note he did not want to build that life on. He could feel Nasir studying his face, trying to see into what was going through his mind, but he kept his face as composed as possible adamant not to give away his inner turmoil.

He will suffer alone, for now...

''Nothing love... I'm so sorry, my eyes must've closed for a second.'' He said giving Nasir a shaky smile.

''Do you want me to take the wheel?''

''No, no... I'll drive. Just.. just talk to me for a while''

''Are you sure?''

''yeah.. yeah... just talk to me.''

He tried his best to give Nasir an assuring smile, which of course Nasir didn't return. The man knew him all too well. He could bet Nasir saw right through his facade.

He took a deep breath trying to gather his scattered thoughts before turning on the ignition. Nasir was silent and Agron was sure he was debating about whether or not this was the right time to ask questions.

After a long couple of seconds he heard Nasir let out a long sigh, a sure sign of giving up. He watched from the corner of his eye as Nasir turned his attention towards the dog that was covering under the seat.

''Did your daddys antics scare you Rover? Huh? You should tell him that he's too old to be driving around like Vin Diesel'' Nasir said sending a pointed glare his way.

He was thankful that Nasir didn't pursue the subject further. He knew his husband inside out. So he was sure that he would get bombarded with questions in the morning. But for now he was more than happy to just sit back and listen to Nasirs idle chatter. He let his husbands' voice wash over him, taking comfort in the beautiful sounds, allowing the words to calm and sooth his frazzled nerves.

But he couldn't help but steal a quick glance every now and then at the side mirror, watching the rapidly disappearing 'scene of horror'.


End file.
